Gerald J Merritt - Consett
-
Description
SAVED FROM THE "DULWICH" A Consett Apprentice Amongst the Survivors Amongst the survivors of the s.s. Dulwich, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off Cape Antifer, north of Havre, was Mr. Gerlad J. Meritt, son of Mr. Henry Merritt of Strood, Kent, and a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. J.G. Merritt, of Havelock Street, Consett. The young man was brought up in Consett and finished his education at the local Technical Institute, only going to his parents' home some three years ago. Mr. Merritt was an apprentice on the Dulwich, a screw ship of over 3,000 tons, and belonging to Messrs. Watts and Watts of London. On the evening of the 15th ult., when the Dulwich was struck, young Merritt was in his cabin. The force of the explosion shook the vessel from stern to stern. Making his way on deck, he found that the ship was sinking and that lifebelts were being served out by one of the officers. The crew were ordered into the boats. Mr. Merritt not leaving until the deck was awash, the Dulwich disappearing within ten minutes after being torpedoed. The captain and crew were three-quarters of an hour in the boats before being picked up by a French destroyer. The submarine disappeared on the approach of the destroyer. At Havre, it was found that two of the crew were missing, apparently having failed to get away ere the ship sank. The survivors were accommodated at Havre in a motor garage and on the Thursday following they returned to England. This photograph was published in the Illustrated Chronicle on the 5th of March 1915. During the Great War the Illustrated Chronicle published photographs of soldiers and sailors from Newcastle and the North East of England, which had been in the news. The photographs were sent in by relatives and give us a glimpse into the past. The physical collection held by Newcastle Libraries comprises bound volumes of the newspaper from 1910 to 1925. We are keen to find out more about the people in the photographs. If you recognise anyone in the images please comment below. Copies of this photograph may be ordered from us, for more information see: http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt" >www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt Please make a note of the image reference number above to help speed up your order. -
Owner
illustratedchroniclesoldiers -
Source
IllustratedChronicles (Flickr) -
License
What does this mean? Public Domain Mark
-
Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127539872@N02/16249340258/
Resource type: Image
Last modified: 7 years, 11 months ago
Viewed: 538 times
Picture Taken: Unknown -
Co-Curate tags
